Phrase meaning help.

[Nezhul]

English is not my native language, but I prefer reading originals. So I read "50 shades" now, and there's a sentence during oral sex on the piano scene, that I cannot fully understand:

"He holds me in place, his hands just above my knees as his tongue tortures me, giving no quarter, no respite."

I don't get the "no quarter" part. As I google for translation, I can't find a matching meaning. It's mainly either one fourth of something, a coun (which is 1/4 of dollar I believe), facial hair that grown for 1/4 a month, but for the life of me I cannot get what "quarter" means HERE.
Thanks. It's really rare I find something I can't google up.

[dubble]

"Quarter".... none of what you found or thought in this case. It is not meant as a word by itself, rather as part of the phrase, 'give no quarter'. Look up the whole phrase, not the word. Yes, the English language is very odd, difficult, & even improper.

Giving no quarter is the phrase meaning giving no mercy. It's often used in war movies.

I believe it originated during wars of older times when a defeated/vanquished enemy was 'given no quarter'... they were not taken prisoner, rather put to death. They could be 'held for quarter'... held for some type of ransom.

So in modern terms I see it as showing no mercy. He was not giving in to her pleas even if she wanted him to stop licking her. He was going to lick her regardless, even for his pleasure rather than hers, no matter if she begged him to stop.

Edit: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/give-no-quarter.html

[ptarsus]

"No quarter" is when the conqueror refuses to spare the life of the vanquished. It means that the victor will give no clemency or no mercy and accept no surrender.

The term is generally used in the context of a war, and the declaration that "no quarter will be given" is a violation of international laws governing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to the Wikipedia and the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "may originate from an order by the commander of a victorious army that they 'will not quarter' [in this case house or give a place to stay to] enemyu combatants. Therefore, [no enemies] can be taken prisoner, and all ... must be killed."

Thus, in the passage you're citing, "no quarter" means that Grey's tongue is not allowing her pussy to surrender; Grey is not relenting, not stopping, there is no relief from the oral sex he is performing on her.

[Nezhul]

Thank you guys, it's revealing. Yea, English is odd, but I do really well with it. It's probably the first time in a few years I couldn't understand something. Other than that, there's an odd word I need to google the meaning of.
English is simple. I even think it's simpler than Russian, with all our suffixes, prefixes and endings that can be combined to a completely different meaning with almost each and every word root.

[les]

                     


     English is a "Rich Language" as we have imported many phrases and words and idioms from nearly every other culture world wide.
Then of course other counties have further adapted it to suit their circumstances, From America and Australia to Zambia and Zimbabwe, including Russia no doubt.                
                     
            




                     

[Nezhul]

Yes, we have a lot of words that we took from english or other europe latin languages (french, german mainly).
We have some words in our everyday life that have no purely Russian (or I should rather say Slavonic) analogs. For example "sandwitch" is called "Buterbrod" in Russian which is slightly changed "Butter-Bread".

[les]

We use the expression "Bread and Butter"
To express a basic need

For example
Teases are the bread and butter of milovana.

[Nezhul]

I know. But just to make it clear, our "Buterbrod" is not just bread and butter - it is bread for sure, but other than that anything from butter, chease, meat to vegetables and sauses. It's a vast group of bread-based foods in one word.

[les]

I was mealy pointing out the use of a food based phrase having non food usages.

Our sandwich is said to be derived from the Earl of Sandwich who had meats between two slices of bread so he did not need to stop gambling to eat.

Many things differ when moving countries.

The hood of a car in America is a Bonnet when in England.
Both of which are types of headgear.